Light A Bigger Fire is Ist Ist's fourth album, the follow-up to their top 50
album Protagonists. It is a bold statement of intent, both in its title and
the ten songs contained in its thirty-four minutes, a thrilling modern rock
record that sets its stall out from the very start and follows through on
every promise it makes.
The album's first single Lost My Shadow kicks things off and sets out their
stall immediately, huge imperious hooks sit on beautiful mournful melodies and
Adam Houghton's increasingly imposing vocals come out kicking and punching.
Ist Ist are leaving no stone unturned on this record, coming out fighting and
with knockout blows raining in from all sides. Where on previous records
they'd pause for breath and give the listener respite, Light A Bigger Fire
powers on relentlessly.
The Kiss, the second single, follows on, synths melting into a grimy sleazy
bass and demonstrates that whilst Ist Ist have retained many of the elements
that made their first three records underground successes, they've set their
stall out on Light A Bigger Fire, by enlisting the help of producer Joe Cross,
to make a record that's full of songs that wouldn't be out of place on daytime
radio playlists were they open to bands like them. Remaining fiercely
independent means Ist Ist hold control of their own destiny, their imagery and
the music, but excludes them from many of the openings that would catapult
them to the wider audience their records are now demanding.
Those synths usher in Repercussions, another single which might lead to
accusations of frontloading were Light A Bigger Fire to later tail off (it
doesn't). It's a song that shows off each member of Ist Ist's contributions to
the whole. Joel Kay's drums sit dead centre, the fulcrum for most of this
record, whilst Andy Keating's bass often negates the need for a six-string at
all such is its omnipotent presence. Adam's vocal snarls with menace and
threat as he declares "close your eyes, I'll never be too far, what would I
say to you if I knew there would be no repercussions" as Mat Peters' synths
create that magical Mancunian mirage of submerging dark lyrical content in
uplifting shining music. Whilst the lazy comparisons that dogged Ist Ist in
their early years have been consigned to the bin, the core DNA of these songs
continue that fine tradition of the very best bands that have come from the
city and been taken to the hearts of those here and further afield (selling
out four-figure capacity venues on the continent on their last tour where much
of this record were previewed).
Three songs in and three singles and you'd forgive most bands now if the
record changed tact, lost some of its intensity or veered off into
experimentation, but the whirlwind first half of Light A Bigger Fire steps up
a gear with I Can't Wait For You. Towering glacial synths lift the song up
like the most thrilling of fairground rides, stopping for a few seconds of
mercy, with some backing vocals from Joel, before ratcheting up further. A
single in everything but name, but with such strong competition on this
record, it's destined to become a live highlight.
The fourth single from the album, Dreams Aren't Enough, ensures that the first
half of the record goes out as it came in. The production in the chorus gives
Adam's vocals the room to breath while the chorus feels claustrophobic, in
keeping with the lyrical content - "the fear inside, I know what I have done",
the sense of foreboding and the consequences before the song soars to its
conclusion.
Something Else kicks off the second half of the record, another towering
monolith of a song that Ist Ist have made their trademark across their
previous albums, but like so much here is dripping with the confidence that
their success to date has brought, going full-time as a band with the creation
of their own KVR rehearsal rooms and the insight brought to the table by Joe
Cross's vast production experience.
What I Know confirms this, the lightness of the production illuminating the
darkness in the basslines, synths and drums to make this a more radio-friendly
sound, accessible to those hearing in passing rather than seeking them out.
Everything is perfectly controlled without losing the emotion as the synths
envelop Adam's vocals in the chorus.
Hope To Love Again possesses a great opening line - "you were told explicitly
to keep the fuck away from me" - a turn of phrase that confirms Adam's
development as a lyricist is continuing to accelerate as the band progress.
Dark thoughts laced with moments of lucidity, sprinkled with humour and
delivered with the confidence of a man who knows the power of his words now
he's been stood in front of thousands singing them back at him.
They've not completely abandoned darkness for the shiny new sound though - XXX
harks back to the darker sound of previous records in many aspects, its sense
of impending doom - "although our love was steeped in neglect, you, you said
nothing as a sign of respect" - set to a backdrop of "pulsating death disco"
as John Robb described it.
The final song Ghost won't be entirely new to those who've followed Ist Ist
from their earliest days, but it'll be almost unrecognisable musically. The
first time on the whole record that they take their foot off the pedal, it's
set predominantly to a haunting eerie piano that perfectly matches Adam's
plaintive delivery before the song veers off for the last minute, the longest
instrumental section on the album, building around that piano line that
intensifies in pace like a rope round the neck before dropping down and then
out. The control of the pace and mood is majestic and brings the album to a
sombre conclusion.
Light A Bigger Fire's biggest strength is in the way they've captured
perfectly the essence of these songs in a way that opens up their once
inward-looking sound to something that people can attach themselves to and
immerse themselves in. It's a record equally at home blasting out on the radio
as it is in those moments where you want to shut the world out and immerse
yourself in the music. It cements Ist Ist's place as torchbearers for the
spirit of Mancunian guitar music as it enters a period where it's under threat
from the industry tastemakers and the toxic impact of nostalgia on people's
willingness to invest in new music.
Light A Bigger Fire should be the record to catapult Ist Ist to a much wider
audience, opening themselves up, willing to push the boundaries of their
sound, cast aside some of the darkness and let the light in. It's their best
record to date by some distance yet packed with songs that both capture the
power of their live shows whilst exploring new ground. Moving, swirling, never
still, as one of their long-lost songs goes.
Light A Bigger Fire and previous records can be ordered via their website.
Digital versions of their previous limited edition releases and a number of live field recordings are available to download from their Bandcamp.
Ist Ist play Liverpool Jacaranda (September 20), Bury Met (22), Kingston Fighting Cocks (23), Hebden Bridge Trades Club (October 2), Leeds Brudenell Social Club (3), Glasgow Slay (4), Newcastle Think Tank (5), Wolverhampton Newhampton Arts Centre (9), Bristol Exchange (10), Brighton Komedia (11), Sheffield Yellow Arch (12), Cambridge Mash (16), Nottingham Rescue Rooms (17), London Oslo (18), Manchester New Century (19), Whitby Tomorrow's Ghosts Festival (November 1), Groningen De Oosterpoort (4), Cologne Luxor (5), Frankfurt Zoom Club (6), Munich Live / Evil (7), Zurich Exil (10), Vienna Chelsea (11), Prague Club Varsava (13), Budapest Durer Kert (14), Warsaw Hybrydy (15), Bielefeld Movie (16), Amsterdam Paradiso Grote Zaal (18), Antwerp Kavka Zappa (19), Paris Le Mazette (20), Hamburg Kent Club (26) and Copenhagen Rust (27).
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